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HU Jintao Hú Jǐntāo ​胡锦涛 B ◀ HU Die Comprehensive index starts in volume 5, page 2667. HU Jintao Hú Jǐntāo ​胡锦涛 b. 1942 President of China (2002– present) Hu Jintao is the current President of the Peo- of Guizhou Province (July 1985–November​­ 1988), and the ple’s Republic of China. During his two terms party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region (De- in office he has faced several crises, with vary- cember 1988–January​­ 1991). Currently Hu serves as presi- ing degrees of success. His handling of the dent of the PRC, as well as general secretary of CCP’s Central Committee, and chairman of the CCP’s Military 2008 Sichuan earthquake was initially praised Affairs Committee. for his break from previous government se- Since his succession to Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao has crecy but later criticized outside China after taken an active role in developing China’s foreign rela- widespread media censorship of the event be- tions. The first developments were the introduction of came apparent. He has been very active in pro- the concepts “harmonious society” and “peaceful rise,” moting development at home and improving the latter of which was proposed in 2003 by Chairman foreign relations, notably with Taiwan. of the China Reform Forum Zheng Bijian. Peaceful rise, later termed the peaceful development path by Hu, was touted as a path of economic development that could raise “China’s population out of a state of underdevelopment” orn in Shanghai in December 1942, with ances- (Glaser & Medeiros 2007, 295) while working coopera- tral roots in Anhui Province, Hu Jintao gradu- tively with other countries to promote national security ated in 1965 from China’s Qinghua University, and world peace. The concept of peaceful development Department of Irrigation Engineering. He joined the also included Cross-​­Strait relations between Taiwan and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in April 1964 and be- the mainland. In 2006, Hu stated that China’s foreign came a political/ideological counselor for students while policy would include a peaceful approach to the Taiwan in college. After graduation, Hu worked as an engineer at issue. As a result of this goal, which was developed via the Liujiaxia Irrigation Works in Gansu Province, north- consultations with the United States, tensions between western China. the Mainland and Taiwan lessened, and economic and Chosen by Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping (1904– agricultural cooperation improved. This was helped by 1997) to be a leader of the so-​­called fourth generation of the election of the more conciliatory Guomindang (Kuo- leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Hu mintang, [KMT]) under Ma Ying-​­Jiao in the Taiwanese was ranked as the fifth and the youngest standing member Presidential elections in 2008. of the seven-​­member Political Bureau of the CCP dur- These socioeconomic developments were evidence of ing Jiang Zemin’s era (1989– 2002) and succeeded Jiang Hu’s philosophy of a “harmonious society” that places in 2002. He had been head of the Chinese Communist people at the center of policy decisions and debates. At the Youth League (January 1983–​­July 1985), party secretary Seventeenth National Congress of the CCP in October 1075 www.berkshirepublishing.com © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC B 1076 Berkshire Encyclopedia of China 宝 库 山 中 华 全 书 Hu Jintao inspecting the honor guard in Nairobi, Kenya. China is actively trying to expand its relationships with sub-​­Saharan African governments. 2007, Hu asserted that China’s primary goal was to be- ideology was not without its critics, however, who claimed come “a well-​­off society that would ensure balanced eco- that Hu’s rhetoric about the administration working for nomic growth, improvement of people’s well being and the people’s best interests allowed him to impose his own social justice” (Jianhai Bi 2008, 17). This goal included agenda. Such claims were not uncommon or far-​­fetched dispersing China’s wealth by retooling income distribu- given the corruption scandals of Communist leaders tion policies and balancing growth between rural and since the 1980s. urban areas. Hu’s focus on government for the people Throughout Hu’s term as president there was an in- exemplified his ideology, which was based expressly on crease in anti-​­corruption campaigns, but top officials re- Jiang Zemin’s “Three Represents,” a guiding belief sys- mained beyond investigation, which became problematic tem that centered on learning, politics, and integrity. This during times of national crises when information was not www.berkshirepublishing.com © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC HU Jintao n Hú Jǐntāo n 胡锦涛 1077 communicated and governmental activity was not trans- was one of the top priorities of Hu’s administration, the parent. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, official an- focus of which was on developing global industry and ad- nouncements were slow to materialize and numerous vancing Chinese brands. cases went unreported by hospitals and health officials. During his second tenure as President of China, the This crisis provided Hu and his administration with the 29th Olympic Games was held in Beijing, China, during opportunity to make policy changes, particularly with re- the summer of 2008, bringing unprecedented attention to gard to accountability of governmental officials and to me- the People’s Republic. Hu is due to be replaced as Presi- dia ownership. Significant changes, however, were slow to dent and Party Secretary in 2012. materialize. Instead, the opportunity was used primarily Wenshan JIA and Cassie LYNCH to legitimize the CCP and bolster Hu’s position therein. Unlike during the SARS crisis of 2003, Hu’s adminis- tration was praised by the international community for its Further Reading rescue and relief efforts and for its initially allowed open Fenby, J. (2008). Modern China: The fall and rise of a great reporting of the Sichuan earthquake in May 2008, which power, 1850 to the present. New York: HarperCollins. left nearly 80,000 dead or missing. This praise was short Freedman, A. (2005). SARS and regime legitimacy in lived, however, as reports began to surface of thousands China. Asian Affairs, 36(2), 169– 180. of schools collapsing because of poor construction. State- Gang Lin, & Xiaobo Hu. (2003). China after Jiang. Stan- controlled media censored reports about the school col- ford, CA: Stanford University Press. lapses amidst protests from parents and teachers, some of Glaser, B. S., & Medeiros, E. S. (2007). The changing ecol- whom were detained. In early 2009, reports speculated ogy of foreign policy making in China: The ascension that the earthquake might have been induced by the 320 and demise of the theory of “Peaceful Rise.” The China million tons of water held back by the four-​­year-old Zip- Quarterly, 190, 291– 310. ingpu Reservoir, a government sponsored project that Jianhai Bi (2008). Political transition in China. New Zea- was meant to provide power and water for drinking and land International Review, 17– 21. irrigation to the Sichuan region. Jianwei Wang. (2007). Hu Jiantao’s “New thinking” on c r o s s - ​­strait relations. American Foreign Policy Inter- China under Hu experienced continuing strong eco- ests, 20, 23– 34. nomic growth. In 2007, the beginning of Hu’s second Li Cheng (2000). Jiang Zemin’s successors: The rise of five-​­year term, the trade surplus with the US and the EU the fourth generation of leaders in the PRC. China exceeded $260 billion and foreign reserves moved to a Quarterly, 161, 1– 40. record $2 trillion at the end of 2008. Hu expanded foreign Gilley, B. & Nathan, A. J. (2003). China’s new rulers: The interests, paying visits to the United States, the Middle secret files. New York: New York Review Books. East, Africa, and Europe to propagate his ideas of China’s Ren Zhichu (1997). Hu Jintao: China’s first man in the 21st peaceful rise and harmonious society. Economic progress Century. New York: Mirror Books. HU Shi ▶ www.berkshirepublishing.com © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC.
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